President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday announced the end of the six-month state of emergency in Rivers State, restoring democratic governance in the oil-rich state after months of political paralysis.
Addressing Nigerians in a press statement, with special focus on the people of Rivers State, President Tinubu declared that the emergency, proclaimed on March 18, 2025, would lapse at midnight.
Effective September 18, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule, are to resume their offices.
The President explained that the intervention became necessary earlier in the year after a constitutional impasse between the executive and legislative arms of the state brought governance to a halt.
According to him, only four lawmakers stood with Governor Fubara, while 27 others opposed him, making it impossible for the governor to present and secure approval for the state budget.
“The serious constitutional crisis brought governance in the State to a standstill. Even the Supreme Court, in one of its judgments, held that there was no government in Rivers State,” Tinubu said.
He noted that despite his personal efforts and those of other stakeholders to mediate, both sides refused to compromise, forcing him to invoke Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution to declare the emergency and suspend all elected officials for six months.
President Tinubu expressed appreciation to the National Assembly for swiftly approving the proclamation, as well as to traditional rulers and the people of Rivers State for their support during the emergency period. He also acknowledged dissenting voices, who filed over 40 court cases challenging the legality of his action, stressing that such moves reflect the vibrancy of Nigeria’s democracy.
Defending his decision, Tinubu said, “The power to declare a state of emergency is an inbuilt constitutional tool to address situations of actual or threatened breakdown of public order and public safety, which require extraordinary measures. It would have been a colossal failure on my part as President not to have made that proclamation.”
The President, however, stated that intelligence reports now show a “groundswell of a new spirit of understanding, a robust readiness, and potent enthusiasm” among stakeholders in Rivers State to return to normal governance.
“With this welcome development, I do not see why the state of emergency should exist a day longer than the six months I had pronounced,” he declared.
Tinubu further urged governors and state assemblies across the country to learn from Rivers State’s ordeal by fostering peace, order, and cooperation in their respective domains.
“The people who voted us into power expect to reap the fruits of democracy. That expectation will remain unrealizable in an atmosphere of violence, anarchy, and insecurity borne by misguided political activism and Machiavellian manipulations among stakeholders,” he warned.
The President concluded his address by reaffirming his commitment to safeguarding democracy, saying: “Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
